


Not with a bang, but a whimper

by catsforlivvy



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Enjoy!, F/M, I wrote this before Clara even existed soo, au i guess, first story so be gentle!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-26
Updated: 2017-01-26
Packaged: 2018-09-20 01:35:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 561
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9469595
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/catsforlivvy/pseuds/catsforlivvy
Summary: The Doctor is dying, so there's one last goodbye, 'Rose Tyler, I love you' is his parting line.





	

He had been anticipating this for a while. The end was inevitable. It was as obvious as the sun was bright. He'd always been ready for it, had always known, deep down, that this day would come.

He had taken care of everything. He'd stopped off to see all of his companions, one by one. Martha still worked for UNIT, Donna was happily married, Amy and Rory, well, he could only briefly catch a glimpse of their lives, but they seemed content. None of them had any idea it was him. He did it discreetly, after all, and all of them had been kind to the old man they passed in the street. The Tardis had been parked somewhere remote, but nearby. The keys lay somewhere far away from it, and The Doctor could only hope, if by some miracle of chance, that somebody may carry on the legacy. 

He pondered for a minute at the word 'companion'. He looked at the bed beside his, and marvelled at how fitting it was. Rose Tyler, his best companion, was by his side again. She was dying, too. There was nothing in the entire universe that could have saved her, except maybe The Doctor. Maybe the brilliant Doctor she once knew could have done it. He would have raced against time to find the cure, into unknown tropics and alternate dimensions, speeding across time and space to save her. But his willpower had weakened considerably in his old age, and there was little hope left for either of them. 

He leaned up, slowly making his way off the bed. It was an arduous process, one that took far too long and too much energy for his frail body. He had one and a half thousand years behind him, and it had finally begun to show in creaking joints and painful movements. He settled down in the chair besides her bed. He sank with a great wheeze, disturbing the coarse fabric of his hospital gown. He felt the last of his resolve slowly draining out of him, watching over Rose. He suspected she was also nearing the end, and he smiled weakly at the thought that maybe neither of them would have to die before the other. Maybe, just maybe, the universe would be kind enough to grant them this at the same time, and neither would live with only the memory of the other. 

Rose's eyes were open, but almost blank, as if there were something great and powerful and almighty that only she could see. When she turned her head to see The Doctor, he felt that she could see into his soul. She smiled slightly. He took it as a sign that he would be forgiven. Staring into her blank eyes he smiled back, only briefly breaking the gaze to blink back tears. 

He took her hand and stood up on shaking legs to plant a gentle kiss on her forehead. "Rose Tyler, I love you." He finished, collapsing back into his chair. His eyes were closing and he was barely awake. Rose's hand stroked the back of his. "Rest." She said. 

And so, with that, The Doctor, one and a half thousand years old, the saver of planets and the destroyer of worlds, the last of the Time Lords, settled down in his chair, took a great sigh, and died.

**Author's Note:**

> Tell me what you think!


End file.
